


The Care and Feeding of Link(s)

by Ellenar_Ride



Series: Mending Links [1]
Category: The Legend of Zelda & Related Fandoms, The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild
Genre: Character Study, Gen, Mending Links 'Verse, Sav is a (former (sort of)) Feral Child, Sav is an aggressive self-care advocate, Sav is the Mom Friend
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-11-15
Updated: 2019-11-15
Packaged: 2021-01-29 09:06:29
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,000
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21407680
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Ellenar_Ride/pseuds/Ellenar_Ride
Summary: In this little family he has built for himself, Sav is The One Who Cooks. The much-despaired universal trait of every Link that has fallen into his life is their inability to cook or generally take care of themselves.(Prompt: Food, Cooking and Mealtimes)
Series: Mending Links [1]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1545610
Comments: 8
Kudos: 55





	The Care and Feeding of Link(s)

**Author's Note:**

> Guess who's not dead? It's me. (Sort of.)
> 
> I've been reading a lot of Dimensional Links (ChangelingRin on FF.net) and Linked Universe (I can't find the actual person to credit, but there's a tumblr blog called Linked Universe that seems to be the official source), so I thought I'd try my hand at a version of my own. I'm a fan of the domestic, though, so it's definitely got a different spin.
> 
> There are several Links mentioned in this story that aren't explicitly identified, I'll list them out in the endnotes.

In this little family he has built for himself, Sav is The One Who Cooks. The much-despaired universal trait of every Link that has fallen into his life is their inability to cook or generally take care of themselves. Oh, injuries are treated (for the most part—Mort is the exception here), enemies are defeated, and they eat three meals a day and (generally) sleep every night.

But do they eat _well? _No. None of them can cook, so they're used to eating individual ingredients or terrible concoctions. Do they sleep _enough? _No. As a group, they average four or five hours a night—excluding Dive, who sleeps twelve hours or more if the others let him, and Myth, who goes days without sleeping if given the chance. Do they heal _properly? _No. They never sit still long enough—they always protest there isn't enough time.

It's Sav who goes around lobbing waterskins at every Link with chapped lips, grumbling about the importance of hydration. _You're seventy percent water, so drinking more water solves seventy percent of your problems. _It's Sav who rounds everyone up for breakfast, lunch, and dinner and doesn't let anyone leave until he's seen them eat a full meal (this is the easiest job of them all).

It's Sav who sneaks about stealing weapons and locking them in the shed if he notices anyone practicing more than an hour at a time, or more than four hours in a day. The only weapon he never takes is Dive's sword, because she's sentient and doesn't like to be removed. He rarely has to get after Dive for overworking himself, anyway.

It's Sav who sends the Links to bed when it gets late, reassures them when they try to set up a watch rotation, and scolds them when they sneak out into the fields. It's Sav who shakes Dive awake when he's slept eight hours straight. It's Sav who convinces Myth to _at least come cuddle if you won't sleep,_ and pretends he doesn't notice the other Link's silent sobs in the middle of the night.

It's Sav who pointedly orders his little family to _bathe, now, you reek. _It's Sav who snaps at them to _wash your hair, clean behind your ears, get that dirt out from under your fingernails, what are you, children? _It's Sav who organizes and enforces the laundry rotation and the cleaning schedule for the house.

It's Sav who catches the pieces of each shattering Link as they arrive and holds them together until the healing process begins. He welcomes them into his quiet life, his little home that he's carved out for himself with blood, sweat, and tears. He teaches them how to just _live. _For Way's shy smile, for Tribal's full-body hugs, for Minor's puppyish adoration, for every benefit he can dredge up for his little family, he'll take the playful clucking and the _mother hen _jokes.

But Sav has a secret: he's a bad role model. He doesn't follow his own advice. Oh, he performs every ritual he demands of the other Links, practices every self-care trick he shares—except one. He doesn't attend to his mental health. Instead, he buries his problems under the surface, distracting himself with the need to care for everyone else.

The other Links have come to depend on him for stability. It's his responsibility to keep this little settlement running smoothly. He can't break that system. And here he is, making excuses. Major could step up for a while. The Links are all adults (except for Way, maybe, and Minor, certainly), they know how everything works now. Sav could take the time to put his mind at peace.

The truth is, he's scared. The truth is, he came out here to the middle of nowhere (an hour's ride to the nearest stable on his bike, so much longer on horseback, _so far from civilization)_ so he wouldn't have to think. The truth is, he can't bear to face the reality of his broken mind.

There's a reason he insists on feeding everyone as much as they want, if only at set mealtimes. <strike>It has nothing to do with the memory of that aching sensation in his stomach back on the plateau, when he didn't even know what hunger was, when he learned to hunt by watching the Bokoblin packs.</strike>

There's a reason he forces everyone to sleep a full eight hours. <strike>It has nothing to do with sleep deprivation stealing the steadiness of his shield arm against his first Lynel, sending him to his knees against a Moblin, leaving him exposed and vulnerable in the wilderness when he finally collapsed.</strike>

There's a reason he locks up everyone's weapons if provoked. <strike>It has nothing to do with the weight of the Master Sword in his hand as he approaches Hateno Village in a dreamlike daze, convinced the settlement is no more than another Bokoblin camp to be cleared out, stopped only by a fall into the pond.</strike>

There's a reason he chose the name Sav, even if the others won't ask why. They don't want to share the reasons behind their own names, so they don't question his. He's never had to explain he's really calling himself _savage. _He's never had to talk about his time on the Great Plateau, feral and mindless, no more than a beast before the Old Man so patiently coaxed him back to clarity. He's never had to explain the wilderness is still in his blood, calling to him, beckoning him with a siren song that saps more of his will the longer he listens. He's never had to say that with each passing day, he trusts himself less and less to resist the call. He's never had to tell them how much his hands itch to pick up a blade—any blade—and lash out and feel skin and muscle and bone give way.

He's never had to tell them just why he's called the Hero of the Wild.

**Author's Note:**

> Sav | Hero of the Wild  
Mort | Hero of Men (pre-MC)  
Dive | Hero of the Skies  
Myth | Hero of Legend  
Way | Hero of Wind  
Tribal | Ancient Hero (pre-BotW)  
Minor | Hero of Time*  
Major | Hero of Time**
> 
> *One of them. It's a little complicated, but Minor's piece is next, so that should help clear things up.  
**The adult one. Draws heavily from LU's Time.
> 
> (As you may guess, this universe includes EVERY Link. That includes the pre-SS Link, the Hero of Men from the Minish Cap intro, the Hero of the Four Sword from the Four Swords intro, and the Ancient Hero from 10,000 years before BotW. Also three of my own AU Links. There are twenty-five Links in this universe. ... that's a lot. I may have made an error, but I love them all.)


End file.
